Last night I read an article in Southern Living‘s Tennessee Living special section about a farming family in middle Tennessee. The farm owner/operator was quoted as saying that "If you’re imaginative, there’s more opportunity than ever, but you have to be a businessman first, and a farmer second." The farmer spoke of how he devoted his energies to finding new farm products.
With this thought in mind and armed with an opinion, I engaged my husband, an independent crop consultant (someone who advises farmers on all aspects of their crop production) in a bit of banter where I predicted the certain demise of American cotton farming as an industry due to globalization and an antiquated marketing system.
You see, not unlike many other aging industries, the American cotton farmer grows a product and expects there to be a market. The farmer trusts detached and distant organizations to secure a market for their product and rarely engages at any level in the development of new markets, the retention of existing markets or even the adding of value to his farm product. The farmer rarely engages their vendors – equipment, crop protection products, etc. at the product development level (and to be fair – these vendors don’t make the offer, but that’s for another discussion). The farmer doesn’t even KNOW who his customer is – other than the vague comments about t-shirts and bedsheets. They don’t know who actually buys their cotton. And the concept of globalization is just another reason to complain.
Now, my husband contends that cotton is a unique agricultural product (which it is, of course) with a unique set of limitations and circumstances. The industry relies on a network of mass processing facilities (the harvesting and ginning process) that limits customization. There is also a barrier to specific marketing niche products since weather and other growing conditions can alter the crop outcome significantly. He also reminds me that farmers pay a portion of their crop into national marketing organizations known as the National Cotton Council and Cotton Incorporated that are "supposed to handle all that."
To me, to insure my livelihood, I would, as a farmer, be willing to make these weaknesses (mass production, expensive equipment, etc.) play to my benefit. I would be searching high and low for a unique marketing opportunity, developing a new product or finding a new use for a cotton bi-product. I would band together with fellow farmers to engage the vendors, meet with textile industry leaders and other industry players to expose a new way to use, sell or create value from my product. I would be willing to participate in the process or even own new aspects of the process in order to create profits for my business. And most importantly, I would go out and meet my customers face-to-face.
Yet, today’s cotton farmers, for the most part, are content to complain about the cost of production and the price paid for their commodity. They remain content to allow the most useful natural fiber in the world (and their life’s work) to be traded on their behalf by third-party sales cooperatives, and they leave market development to the good folks at Cotton Incorporated. Too bad neither do a good job of watching out for the individual farmer.
The National Cotton Council isn’t creative enough to produce a national cotton meeting that their constituents feel compelled to actually attend. Cotton Incorporated spends copious amounts of money on traditional national advertising campaigns with big name ad agencies who haven’t a clue about what cotton is really worth. Finally, the customer has been left out of the equation altogether – there is no conversation!
If it were me in those shoes, I would be out there fighting for my industry – finding creative ways to use, market and promote my farm products. It’s not as if farmers aren’t risk takers – so why not take a risk where it could really help on the bottom line?
Finally, don’t snub the farmers. We’re all just like them – we don’t seek to connect face-to-face with our customers or take risks that could really set us apart as a business. Maybe it’s time we all took a little risk for the sake of our future.
Ouch! I can feel the farmer’s flinching
I don’t think the idea that any of that was even possible has even occurred to 99% of producers, b/c they spend all their time spinning there wheels (literally & figuratively).
Very interesting though!